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I am doing this one up here just a little earlier as I might not be here for Christmas… plus it’s just convenient to have a shopping list (lolololol) This year’s wish list is going to seem… needy? $$$? multilingual? mixed up? I don’t know what you will make of this, but let’s just say, well, if I am going to be in Japan during Christmas, then your presents would not only be a wonderful thing, it had be bloody useful (at least more useful than, say, a Britney Spears perfume ~_~ )

The line up is not very different from every year’s, otherwise, in my opinion.

– Amazon.com or Amazon.co.jp vouchers

– Kinokuniya vouchers (Kinokuniya in Sydney, which I think you can purchase over the phone)

Considering the number of vouchers listed above, and basically the Visa pre-loaded gift cards, AND the probability of me going to Japan, this list is going to be very “long” LOL. The 3ds is a limited edition, thusly why it’s even on this list. However, honestly, if I am going to be physically in Japan, I am better off receiving the Visa/Mastercard gift cards from you guys as just about everything I want/need would be available there.

If this whole trip is not happening, this list will be updated with more stuff, but they are more in the lines of things like:

– a couple of Santoku knives that is NOT 16cm long.

– a tonne of genkouyoushi

– the grammar dictionaries off white rabbit press

– Kanji flash cards from the same website

etc

so you can see why, if I am already in Japan, it’s just smarter to give me the Visa gift cards hahahahahaha then I can just buy all these things there!

or, give me some handmade cards ^.^

Please DON’T give me perfumes this year. I have a lot of bottles of perfumes from previous years that I haven’t finish using, am unlikely to use often and it’s likely to turn sour before I even get to it (true story). It’s a lovely thought that, ooo I like lolita lempicka, elizabeth arden and wtf not, but if I am not using it, it turns sour, it’s seriously a waste of space and your cash.

After the term break, I joined a Japanese speech contest. Long story short, the teachers liked my speech, they felt it was fantastic, but I lost There goes $150 worth of Kinokuniya vouchers.

On the other hand, though, I actually enjoyed myself enough to actually think about what I want to give a speech on for next year – until I realised I really like how my legs feel when I am relaxed, not hurting from the stress. I suppose, I really don’t want to do it again. Stage fright is a terrible thing.

b) Kabuki

In the move from UC to ANU, I joined Kabuki because, you know, take advantage of all the japanese floating around.

To be honest, when I first joined the Kabuki group, I didn’t think I would have much time for it. The patience of the group, the flexibility to have “take home homework” so to speak allowed me to participate more in an ECA than I really have been able to for a very long time. I really did appreciate the experience, the fun and the relationships that I made there, though sometimes I thought I was going to go mad.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy myself and I am both sad, and glad, to see the back side of it.

My main takeaways from the Kabuki though

– I can actually cook for 30 people, even if I am bad at time and resources managing

– Theatre/people photography. It’s way more complex than I really like, yet the sense of achievement when I look at the end product… utterly satisfied.

– Fuck I type fast when necessary. LOL.

c) Osaka University

I am stating this here, despite possibly not being able to go due to multiple factors.

For the first time in eons, I actually signed up for an exchange. Eons ago, when I first entered ANU, I was considering doing a year in Germany (or German using countries). That never came to fruition because I hated German by second semester, despite however much I love Oliver Kahn – I didn’t bother even reading the application for a year/semester/summer in Germany thing.

Now, 10 years later, I actually applied and got nominated by my lecturers to go. In many ways, I am extremely happy. In other ways, though, I have a lot more responsibilities now than I did 10 years ago. I am feeling strange about this whole thing. So, need to mull over stuff.

I have been back for a few weeks now, been through 1 term break and about to embark for another term break.

Term break, as many have noticed by now, has never really been any form of a break to most students, and this one was no different. I signed up for what I called “intensive Japanese” (it’s not, really), while struggling to stay motivated to do all my anatomy and physiology readings and so on.

Some days, I feel so stretched. I feel like I am really not doing anything, just passively watching the world pass by into exams period. It makes me feel all claustrophobic, anxious and just straight into panic mode.

Then, I had read something and go, hey, I know this, and calm down a little. And, while this happens often enough, I still have moments where I wonder if I was just taking all these just a little too lightly.

In a reversal of last semester, work is now my solace away from university, while my nursing subjects are now my relief from Japanese. It is not a bad thing, and I don’t hate one more than the other nor am I enjoying one less than the other. The comparison lies more in the stress levels.

I can’t wait for the holidays to come, can’t wait to do absolutely nothing at all… So people, don’t mind me if I start rejecting any forms of meet ups and parties in that period!